I wish to express my gratitude to the constituents of the Manukau East electorate and the Indian community across New Zealand.
Thank you for giving me another three years of your support.
It is not something I take for granted. I will continue to work hard for you and our communities.
Your support means a strong, stable National-led Government for New Zealanders for another three years.
National laid out a clear plan to keep New Zealand heading in the right direction.
We will remain focused on that, and on delivering better public services for you and your family. We will continue to build a strong and growing economy that delivers more jobs and higher incomes.
National will continue to support businesses to invest, grow, and create jobs by delivering on our ten Business Growth Agenda priorities.
Fiscal management
We will stay in surplus, reduce debt, and keep taxes low.
We know New Zealand families work hard and expect the Government to spend their taxes on things that matter.
Therefore, National established the Better Public Services (BPS) programme to focus on getting results that make a difference to people’s lives, especially those who are most vulnerable. We will continue to support those who need it most and we’ll back people to get ahead on their own steam.
Childhood Education
One of our BPS targets is increasing participation in early childhood education, as we recognise education provides the opportunity for any child from any background to get ahead and make the most of their life.
At schools, we are focused on raising the quality of teaching and leadership to raise student achievement. We want highly-capable teachers to work alongside other teachers, to help them develop and improve classroom practice.
In health, we are investing more so that your children can receive free doctors’ visits until they are 13 years old. We are extending paid parental leave to enable you to stay at home longer with your baby.
Freight movement
To help our exporters move their freight around the country, and help people travel easily around New Zealand, we will continue the Roads of National Significance programme and deliver our $212 million regional roading package.
While we have the lowest crime rate in 35 years, we will reduce crime even further by ensuring that prisoners complete a 40-hour working week and rehabilitate while behind bars, so that they have a better chance of contributing to society when they are released.
We will continue to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with Cantabrians as we complete the Christchurch rebuild.
There is a lot to do, and I am glad we have the opportunity to do it.
Kanwaljit Singh Bakshi is Member of Parliament on National List for the third consecutive term.
